USS Enterprise

Donnie

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Forum Moderator
Le Rochefort Moderator
Joined
Aug 21, 2011
Messages
5,097
Points
738

Location
Madison, MS
Changed my mind ---- I am thinking about the Enterprise for next build, but I don’t think I have the confidence and experience to be able to handle this. I would love to try it, but I am sure I would need help. I also would add the PE kits that go along w it. Any thoughts or opinions are welcome.

The problem is that finding the correct paints. I am completely lost when it comes to military colors (yes, I know it is gray -- but a lot of shades of gray )

Donnie
 
Last edited:
How is your vision, Donnie? You would need magnifying glass while build. One of the reasons, i switch from this scale. Also. a basic kit will give a very nice appearance, but...if you add PE aftermarket details, it will be looking more detailed.
 
Go for it Donnie.

I didn’t think I’d ever be able to build my Enterprise or the Lobster Boat and now the Tug. Hah, I now have the fourth kit on the way. The Forum has been quite the inspiration for me.

Jan
 
ok, so I am already frustrated as the kit calls for a "Navy Gray" paint. No such "name".... f.e. you have sky gray, navy light blue gray,,,,etc, but no actual "us navy gray"
 
Donnie.

Which Enterprise ( cv-6 or cvan 65), what scale and what time period are you building? This may help me help you narrow down color choices and PE sets.

Scott S
 
The reason I swapped from Kitty Hawk to Enterprise is because I read a review that the KItty Hawk did not have any planes in the hanger - nor any doors to close the hanger which made the model odd to have hanger doors open with a blank space. Is this true ? There is also some guy that does 3D printing that apparently has the full hanger details, but I can not remember the site nor which kit the guy did the 3D hanger addon. I think it was for the Nimitz. Again revealing my ignorance of this era of ships.
 
Did the kit not come with recommeded paint colors? I know Trumpeter kits give you two or three different companys and the paint number to match. Haven't built anything from Tamiya, so not sure what info they give you.
 
It's easy to go crazy over the grays and the blues used on WW2 ships. To add to the load of trying to achieve authenticity, the colors are effected by the weather conditions that your model was operating in and what camouflage was being used in what theater of operations.
Just a suggestion, pick what looks good to you and enjoy. After all, it's your model.DSC_0107.JPG
 
Well, I guess I get hung up in specifics. The Trumpeter did have a color selection. For instance, they say "Navy Blue Grey" - however, unless I miss something, Tamiya does not have any "Navy Blue Grey". Now, they have other "greys". Then I looked in the Model Masters and pretty much found the same. Various shades of grays.
Micromark has their line of paints, and I can look there.
Yes, I agree that it is my ship that I am building, but.... I guess I am lazy and just want instructions to say - buy this #part number paint and you are good to go. !!!!
A little research won't hurt I guess. Thanks for all the interest and help.
 
OK, the Tamiya 1/350 CVN 65 it is. Some choices:

Paint and colors.

I like Testors ModelMasters because you can usually find it anywhere so those are the colors I will reference. These are enamels and I will give you some acrylic choices at the end. The official hull and island colors are stated to be FS 26270 Neutral gray. Most sources state this is a bit dark and I agree so I mix one part white to two parts 26270 (btw, 26270 is a semi gloss. You will not find it. Use 36270 which is flat. Same color; different reflectance). For the flight deck a lot of people use FS 36081, Engine Prep Gray. A darker gray to give that "right out of the yard look." Some have tried FS 36183, Gunship gray for the flight deck and horizontal surfaces but I think this is too light for the flight deck. You can try a few mixes as a weathered flight deck does get lighter and "muddier" over time. For the other horizontal steel decals, Gunship Gray works fine. For the red portion of the hull below the waterline I like old Testors square bottle dark red, # 1104. Not as bright or vibrant as their 1103 red. Once again you can experiment as below the waterline red is generally a maroon/crimson / burgundy color of red.. Your choice. Flight deck insignias, markings etc are combinations of yellow, white, orange and red, depending on the marking. I do not know if Tamiya supplies flight deck marking decals so if you have to paint these are the colors. Conversely, an outfit known as Starfighter Decals provides a decal sheet for the flight deck. It is a bit expensive at $35 but worth it as he makes good stuff. Visit his site as he has lots of stuff. I will not comment on aircraft colors as I hate doing aircraft and best to follow the kit instructions, espec if they reference FS numbers.

I am not an acrylic guys, but here are some suggestions as to vendors; Vallejo, Life Color and a new firm called Tru Color as acrylic examples. There may be others.

Photo etch.

Three suppliers produce excellent sets: Gold Medal Models, Tom's Model Works and White Ensign Models. A side note, White Ensign Models went out of business several years ago but Tom's Model works has picked up their line. Tom has maintained the original White Ensign Models website so go there.. I would look at what is offered, decide what you plan to do and choose accordingly. No doubt some sets are more inclusive than others but then again you do not want to spend money on parts you will nor end up using.

Websites

Both Steelnavy.com and Modelwarships.com have galleries and featured articles involving the build of CVN 65 so you may want to visit these sites if you are not already familiar with them.

Hopefully this will get you up and running.

Scott.
 
Donnie
I believe Tamiya cut corners on the Enterprise and their kit does not feature the hanger deck.I have seen it built with the hanger deck but this was all scratch built by the modeller.I believe Gold Medal Models do extensive upgrades for this kit however the quality of the kit is very dated and miles apart from their current offerings.
Sorry to put a spanner in the works,I suggest you do a search on youtube,there is a good sequence of build videos on the Enterprise illustrating what can be done with the kit but also showing where the kit is lacking.

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Thank you Steven very much.

Donnie
 
I'm new to this site and an airplane guy at heart, having been an air traffic controller in Vietnam. My son, however, was in the Navy and peaked my interest on the rich heritage of our carrier fleet. The best of both worlds, I guess.
I've been looking at my Tamaya CVN-65 box for too long. Did a search for the Enterprise on this site and have decided to plunge in. I'm 71 so either I do it now or the kit will eventually get sold at an estate sale.
Other then a Shipways kit of a Chesapeake Bay pilot boat that I built years ago and took two years to complete this will be a rather long build but age brings patience, or so they say so I'm going to jump in the deep end. The information, so far on this thread has been a lot of help. I will be watching and try to show my progress as I go.

clutch
 
Welcome aboard SOS, Clutch! Yes, you can find help here, just a matter of asking, yea...thay's simple. On another hand, if you would open your own build log (highly recommended) then you get followers and request help from your thread... Anyway, enjoy and have fun!
 
I agree, I look forward to seeing your Build Log. You can start one in the Build Log for Plastic Ships.
 
Donnie,

This is in reference from the 70's to present.

I was in the Navy and the US Navy calls the Colors Deck Gray and Haze Gray.

The thing is at 1/350 scale it's like you're looking at the ship from 1000 feet away when you're really only 3 feet away. What this means is because in real life your looking though the atmosphere with dust etc and the light reflecting off of it; everything appears much lighter in real life. The model will look much more realistic using a medium grey where the real ship is pretty much black. Real Deck Grey in the us navy is nearly black. It lightens up as it wears and collects salt from the ocean. Use a light grey for the haze grey. The one thing I'd really watch out for is anything with a green tint. That is real common in gray paint and US Navy haze gray in real life doesn't ever look green and usually no noticeable blue. The same is true of the bottom of the ship in real like it's was painted with a paint called "Red lead" It's darker red than a fire engine but ship models look much more realistic with a almost terra cotta pink painted below the water line. Once again, because if you're far enough away to see the whole ship your going to be looking through a lot of atmosphere.

Take note when you're looking at the nice models at the tone of the colors.

The best piece of advice I ever got on modeling was "Throw away your black Paint". My constitution was painted Nato Black which is really dark gray and I think it's actually too black, but it's a matter of preference at some point. I built the constitution before I understood the atmosphere thing or I would have gone lighter.

For your US Navy trivia box. Pretty much everything horizontal and up to a foot high is painted deck gray and everything vertical taller than a foot is painted haze grey. The reason is so you can discern the difference in the dark. Navy ships at sea don't typically have lights on outside at night because the lights can be seen from 100 miles away the contrasting colors really help you to not walk into walls when it's dark.
 
Back
Top